Language Arts Journal #3
Advertising
I feel that historically women have always been treated and viewed this way and I believe that it is a positive sign that we are beginning to see a gradual change in what is expected of men and women. Not only are women expected to try to live up to these standards but also men are taught from a young age to look and seek out these physical qualities in women and I believe that both of these mindsets need to be rethought out. The fact that more women are enrolled in college than men today shows the growth and greater independence that the gender has obtained and I believe that this intellectual movement will go long ways to helping improve the image portrayed by the media about the gender. Starting with the 19th amendment which granted women the right to vote, I believe that gradually women began to obtain more independence. The introduction and use of the internet though has prompted greater exploitation of women’s sexuality ultimately effecting the way the media portrays women. One of the main opponents to more realistic views of women’s looks in the media is the beauty industry. In order to sell as many products as possible, they want the bar to be set impossibly high so women buy more products yet never reach the unattainable expectation set by society. I think that it will be very difficult to completely eliminate these views of women but we can, as a society, learn to appreciate non-superficial qualities equally if not more than simply women’s appearance.